"Fuck," the thick blonde spat between pants. Her perfectly manicured fingers clinched the Egyptian cotton sheets tighter.
"That's what you need, slut!" He said as his dark hand connected once more with the alabaster skin of her upturned bottom, turning it an indecent shade of red.
Moving her hips back, she felt his thickness invade her once more; reaching depths that sent her spiralling out of control. She moaned and moved quicker. It seemed as if 'it' were just out of reach. Always out of reach. Always.
***
Jade woke up. Her knuckles were white as they gripped the sheets of her bed. Her legs were tangled in them. Her ample bosom glistened with a fine sheen of perspiration as did her upper lip.
"Fuck," she cursed as she kicked back the covers and headed down the hall. Another cold shower beaconed. It seemed that cold showers were her personal cross to bear. Or they had been for the past six months. Menopause. The Change. Or whatever the politically correct term. It sucked.
Flipping the switch on the wall, light flooded the tiny bathroom. Like everything in her life, it was in a perpetual state of transition. The essentials worked of course. The new toilet had been installed even before she moved into the derelict building that was her mid-life crisis.
The lavatory and tub though had taken longer. She had scoured the Internet for antique fittings that were both free and in working condition. For over two months, she had survived with only the campers' shower that she filled with water each morning and left to warm in the sun.
But finally, she had found just what she sought. Devon, one of her 'students,' had run across the exact items she sought in one of the older homes that the city council had authorized for demolition. She had jumped with glee and thrown herself into his strong arms. It had taken them hours to dismantle the plumbing and the help of several of the others to load and unload it from the old truck that had replaced her sports car.
She had regretted her choice of the top floor apartment when they tried to haul it up four flights of stairs. It had gotten stuck on the second floor landing, refusing to budge despite the brute strength of six young men pushing and pulling from all sides. Finally, Devon had suggested they take out the bathroom window and use pulleys to lift it up the outside of the building. Of course, it was so late that they had to wait for the next day.
Even now, the walls were only half painted. The area around the big bear claw tub was a patchwork of multi-color ceramic tiles of various sizes, shapes and textures. It reminded her of an Amish quilt or the Joseph's coat of many colors from the Bible. The bare wooden floors were partially stripped and sanded. It was her latest project that she worked on when time permitted.
Of course, as the days got shorter, the wind hollowed louder, the sun's rays grew weaker and the working poor of her adopted Detroit neighborhood drew their coats tighter about them as they hurried about their day; Jade's focus was upon other more essential tasks. The last of her summer garden needed to be harvested before the first frost. The make-shift pens for the chickens, rabbits and goats needed to be repaired and made ready for the approaching winter freeze. And always, the spirits of her wounded 'students' needed mending; seemingly on a daily basis.
Turning the tap, she stepped up and over the side of her precious tub. Lifting the shower nozzle that was attached to the spigot, she closed her eyes as the cool water slid down her over-heated body.
"Damn," she thought as she added yet another "must do" to her never-ending list. The last of solar panels on the roof needed to be connected. While the ones that were already functional supplied enough electricity for the summer months, they would not be sufficient for the heating of even the few occupied units in her 'project.'
Jade pushed all thoughts aside and let the refreshing water wash away all cares for several minutes. With a deep sigh of never-ending exhaustion, she reached for one of the luxurious towels that bespoke of the comfortable life she had once led. She wrapped it about her curves and stepped carefully over the side of the tub. She hugged its warmth and softness about her body as she walked back down the hall to the kitchen.
Like her bathroom and her life, it was starkly unfinished. The old solid wood cabinets were stripped bare. The walls were yellowed with years of grease that clung fiercely despite several attempts to wash it all away. The old brown and green linoleum was torn in several places. Yet all of the electrical sockets had been replaced and shown a bright white against the starkness of it all.
Jade lifted the kitchen tap and filled the kettle with water. She turned on the propane and lit the front burner, settling the kettle on it. She rummaged through the cabinet above the sink for the instant coffee. It was a far cry from the Venti black eye that has sustained her for long days on the trading floor and longer evenings spent hunched over a laptop researching stocks and carefully watching markets in Tokyo and London. But caffeine was caffeine, no matter its form.
